Life
by Cassie Jamie
Summary: I wrote this in one of my many fanfic notebooks last year. It's not really good but it was the introduction of Jasmyne and Akila. After TM, before TMR.


Disclaimer:

Disclaimer:

I don't own Rick, Evy, Ardeth, etc.I'm not using this for money.Yatsa, Yatsa, and Yatsa.

Claimer:

Akila and Jasmyne are mine.

-*-*-

Life 

-*-*-

Ardeth Bay, leader of one of the twelve tribes of the Medjai, sat down onto the sands beside his new wife to watch the stars.For the first time in years, the man was actually on what could be considered a vacation.In reality it was his honeymoon – but time off was time off.For once he didn't have to worry about the creature (which was safely buried beneath the sands with Hamunaptra), treasure hunters, or even the immortal Akila.

"Ardeth, do you think we are really safe?" Jasmyne Bay asked in Arabic, looking carefully at her love.

"I do.Both books are with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named in Hamunaptra.Anyone who goes looking will take years to get to." He smiled at her, mentally noting that such weren't really the facts, but he didn't want to upset Jasmyne.

She smiled back, her heart melting, "Do you remember when we were children?When we would come to this very spot and wonder what life would give us?"  
"I remember."

"I still remember the time we vowed to never come back." She whispered, as Ardeth sighed and pulled her into his embrace.

The memory crept to the front of his mind.He remembered that alright.What had happened haunted all who had been there.

"I wish they were still alive.Eshe and Gadiel would have loved to see their matchmaking work out."

He kissed the top of her hair carefully, "Jasmyne, I'm sure they know.They're watching us.Just like we promised.They watch us and help us."

She nodded, and turned her gaze from the sky to his eyes, "I promised Eshe that if I ever have a daughter, I'd name it after her."

"When did you make that promise?"

Jasmyne hadn't been expecting that question – even though it had been asked lovingly, "When we vowed to never come back.You were busy with the others, trying to save who you could.I knew trying to explain to you the inevitable would just make you mad, so I just held her in my arms.I tried to keep her alive.She was my older sister; I didn't want to lose her just yet.Eventually I knew Allah wanted her more then I, and I gave up trying to keep her here.Her last words were a question.I couldn't deny her."

Ardeth hugged her closer to him, "Our first daughter will be named Eshe.And Akila has asked to name the first two boys."

"I know." She smiled, returning her gaze to the skies, "She wants to name them Jibade and Hasani."

"Why?"

She once again looked back at him, "She's Akila.She thinks for herself." She moved her body so her eyes were level with his, "I know some other people like that."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow.

She nodded, and pressed her lips to his.They both enjoyed the passionate kiss, until unbidden thoughts of that faraway night entered both of their minds.

Jasmyne looked down at her feet, "I'm sorry.It's just…"

"This was what we were doing that night." He finished for her, rubbing her shoulders.

"I still remember the blood and the horses and the men." She whispered, "When I first broke our vow, it was just a few years ago, and I came up here.I swore I heard Yazmin and Tarek.It felt like it was that day.I could almost see Fshd, Asad, Farran, Asianne, and Caliana playing in the sands, and you and Al'alim arguing about who would make the better leader of our tribe."

"I came last year." Ardeth started, "I saw Jada and Asfoureh, almost as if it were that day all over again.They were fussing over Acenath." He gasped, "I didn't realize how much I missed them." He murmured, as two hot tears spilled down his cheeks.

Jasmyne looked up and wiped them away, "They wouldn't want us to cry for them.They would want us to remember them as they were.During the days when we were here, in this spot, playing with the babies and going by the Egyptian names Akila helped us pick."

He laughed, "I almost forgot."

"What was yours again?" She asked, smiling once again, "Mine was Ife-Nile.Eshe was Tabia."

"Akiiki.She wanted to call me Akil – I don't remember why I disagreed.And Gadiel became Abasi."

"Yazmin was Lotus.Tarek was Baniti." Jasmyne went on, "Jada and Asfoureh were Jamila and Ain.Fshd was Dakarai."

"Asad became Cheops, Farran became Garai, Asianne became OJufemi, and Caliana became Habibah.Al'alim became Neb er tcher."  
"And sweet baby Acenath was Renenet." She finished for him.She giggled, "I always thought it was a little odd that her name was already Egyptian.I thought we should have made it something like Ameerah or Fatinah."

"Ardeth?Jasmyne?" A voice suddenly interred into their peace.

He sighed, "Yes?"  
Acenath, still very much younger then her friends, walked over.She was dressed as untraditionally as she could get while still somewhat supporting her heritage.Her dark hair, almost as black as the robes the Medjai wore, hung freely down her back to her thighs, almost completely blending into the back of the black button shirt.Her black pants hung loosely at her waist, a testament to the disease no one could rid her of, and her feet were the same as the immortal Akila's – never covered in socks or shoes despite having both.

She stopped in front of them and dropped to her knees, "Miss them too?" She asked, "I'm sorry if I'm intruding on your honeymoon.I just was thinking about them." She explained, looking to the couple.

Jasmyne could see that Acenath hadn't been sleeping again, a trait from infancy, and she had, in fact, been crying.Her youthful face seemed to carry an air of age, while the blue eyes (something no one could explain how she'd gotten) were still pink.

Ardeth pulled Acenath closer to he and his wife, "You have to sleep, Ace."

"I can't." She replied, leaning her head onto Jasmyne's shoulder.

"You have to let go.It hurts, I know, they were my family too.And I miss them everyday, but you're killing yourself with this." He told her, emotions overpowering him.He never understood why Acenath remembered that night, she was only a year old when it happened, but she seemed to be the only one with a full memory of what happened.

"I'm not killing myself." She argued weakly.

Jasmyne turned to face her young friend, "You do not eat.When you do, it comes back up because you want it to.You rarely sleep or try to even help with the children.Renenet, all you ever do is sit in the house with Akila asking about her history." She reverted to the nickname.

"Don't call me Renenet.She was the goddess of fortune and we didn't get anything good." She countered, completely ignoring the rest of what had been said, "Thank you though.I missed that name.I love you both; you know that?I love you both so much." She spoke, becoming misty-eyed.

"I love you, too." Ardeth replied, laying a kiss on her cheek.

"As do I." Jasmyne added, kissing her on the cheek as well.

It was there that the trio fell asleep.And it was there – where Acenath's life had begun – that she died, happily wrapped in the arms of her two best friends.

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Cassie Jamie

[noahXfiles@aol.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:noahXfiles@aol.com



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